Costa Rica Wildlife Adventure, Session 1 2023

June 24, 2023

We started the day with gallo pinto, watermelon, pineapple, eggs, toast, and coffee. Then we took a bus ride adventure up mountains with beautiful scenery and entertaining conversations. We reached Finca Doña Rosa and engaged in some interactive group bonding. We indulged in some fresh local fruit and a homemade lunch. After we were reenergized we took a short hike uphill to a sugarcane information demo. Where we were able to see sugarcane in each step of its growing process, and all the delightful things you can make with pure sugar. There were lots of adorable dogs roaming the premise who followed us through our adventure. Once we were full with sugar we headed to a coffee roasting demonstration. Learning how the flavor of coffee changes through the roasting process. With our newly gathered information we embarked on the downward trek back to our humble abode. We packed for our 2 day rafting excursion which was interrupted by a picture perfect mosaic sunset over our hotel. Exhausted, we took a short walk to a local restaurant, Atípico, where we had a variety of options consisting of burgers, Mexican, and fresh sushi. We then tucked back into our beds to prepare for our early departure tomorrow. We had an amazing jam packed day full of education, scenery, and local culture. We can’t wait to see what tomorrow has in store.

Written by Riley J. and Sophie H.

June 25, 2023

It was a 5:30AM wake up call, and we headed to the bus by 6 for the two hour trip where our rafting adventure would start. We stopped for breakfast at the end of the river, which consisted of pineapple, papaya, yogurt, rice and beans, and eggs. We dropped our luggage and loaded back on the bus for a forty five minute trip up the river. Then half the group took a bumpy jeep ride down to the river and the other half started to walk and got picked up halfway through.

Once at the river we got helmets, life jackets, and paddles before being briefed on the rules of the raft. Then we set off with our guides on the rapids! We stopped halfway down the river at a natural pool with a waterfall we were able to slide down and swim. We finished the rapids and arrived at our beautiful campsite. From there we ate a lunch of build your own burritos. We all settled in to our tents and had some down time to bond. After that we played some group games such as name games, leadership activities, and card games. Then we had a delicious home cooked meal with chicken, rice, and veggies. We ended the day with a community circle where we shared our highs and lows.

Written by the wonderful Annabelle S. and Lily H.

June 26, 2023

We started the day with an early wake up call. We enjoyed a home-cooked breakfast of eggs and pancakes and then set out in the river. The river was beautiful and lush green. We could see tons of waterfalls. We had a few wipeouts, ending with one lost shoe and a lot of laughs. Our raft group had four out of the six of us fall out at some point! We are had a snack of fresh pineapple on the bank of the beautiful river, and when we were done, we shed our life jackets and walked back into the camp where we had eaten yesterday. After lunch at the camp, which was chicken burritos, we loaded up on the bus for a four hour ride. About halfway through, we stopped at a Costa Rican gas station, and got some snacks that we had never seen before. Continuing on, we got to our hotel, Heliconias. We got set up in our rooms and then called our parents. We chilled in our rooms for a little bit and then went to dinner. Dinner was spaghetti with garlic bread. We can’t wait to zip line tomorrow!

From,
Jaxon and Jack B.

June 27, 2023

We started off the day with waking up at 8, dropped off our luggage and headed to breakfast at 9. There we had scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, and toast with OJ. Afterward, around 10, we headed an hour and a half away to zip lining. There were 7 zip lines in total, each of them more exiting than the last. After that, we went to the town of La Fortuna, ate lunch, and shopped around for almost 2 hours before getting into a bumpy ride to our new hotel/cabin. Once we arrived we settled into our rooms and ate a delicious home cooked meal before having our team meeting. We played a fun rhythm game and went around the circle telling everyone one Spanish word we’d learned so far. Overall it was a really fun day!

Written by Lily H. and Isaiah

June 28, 2023

Today was our first full day at Poco Sol, San Carlos. We spent both the morning and the afternoon doing community service work in multiple groups. In the morning, one group grabbed shovels and hiked around the forest, clearing water gutters on the trail so the water would flow into the lake. We learned the lake water is used for hydropower to power electricity for Costa Rica, making it so that nearly the whole country is powered by green energy. The second group headed to a stream to gather materials and repair the road. They gathered sediment by shoveling it into recycled canvas bags. Then it was taken up the hill, dumped on the road, and leveled out. During the afternoon, both groups continued gathering sediment and covering the road.
Poco Sol is located deep in the mountains and is an isolated research station. The views are beautiful and we have already seen lots of wildlife, such as, spider monkeys, lizards, many types of birds, snakes, and puma prints. The food here is cooked by the kind staff and we our being fueled by lots of protein and plenty of carbohydrates. Our rooms are very cozy and we are put to sleep by the many jungle sounds. Our favorite part of this location is that we are in the clouds at night!

By Gilly M. and Harper G.

June 29, 2023

Today we woke up at 8:00 and got ready in our service clothes for an 8:30 breakfast. For breakfast we had eggs, fruit, and jam toast with juice. Then we were off for our 20 minute hike through the cloud rainforest to our conservation location. Unfortunately we had a smaller work group today due to some people feeling under the weather, but those who participated in service work had a great time! We did the same type of work as yesterday, shoveling sediment to restore pathways to help rangers and biologists access the rainforest. While working the rangers pointed out puma paw prints near our work site! We just had a half day so we were done by lunch. We headed back up and had a meal of pasta salad, a rice dish, chips, and pico del gallo. After lunch we had a presenter come speak to us about the organization and what they do at the station. She talked about how the Children’s Eternal Rainforest was started and learned about the wildlife they preserve. After we did and activity where we drew and labeled mammals, reptiles, birds and plants around the area, lots of which we have seen around the property, to teach kids in near by school. We then had a group meeting before dinner. For dinner we had beef quesadillas, french fries and salad. We had a popcorn desert and had some downtime to play games. Before bed we had one last meeting where we played a game and talked about our highs and lows of the day and made our plan for tomorrow. We are excited for another day tomorrow!

By Maggie D. and Annabelle S.

June 30, 2023
In the morning we ate toast, fruits and eggs. We then split into two groups and raked the paths. After, we met up and hiked back to have lunch. Next, we geared up for our waterfall hike and on the way there, we saw our earlier accomplishments on the path! It was amazing to see all our work. The view of the was beautiful and worth the hike. When we got back, it started pouring, lasting a couple hours. In addition, the sky turned yellow. We ate a filling dinner of beef and corn stew. We all then went on a night hike in the rain and saw many species of frogs. After hiking back, we ended the night with an intense game of Uno.

-Lucille and Lake

July 1, 2023
Happy july! Today we woke up for our last morning in the Pocosol cloud forest. We hit the road at 9:00 to arrive at the Crisley cheese factory. We split into groups to be informed on the eventful process of making mozzarella and the history of Crisley. After enjoying a beautifully home-cooked lunch at the factory, we headed over to the Asis animal rescue sanctuary where we learned the interesting facts of animal rescue. We provided lunch to the animals at the sanctuary using creative toys to help evenly distribute the food among the animals. Shortly after we hopped back on the bus to travel to the Heleconias hotel, which we have previously stayed at. We were transported to our rooms via golf cart to avoid the rain. Not long after, we took latín dance lessons where we were able to practice our groovy moves. We then went to dinner and enjoyed some chicken, rice, and salad. We then had our evening meeting where we reflected on the day and played an eventful game of charades.

Written by Sophie H. and Brady G.

July 2, 2023

Today we left Heliconias Hotel, and started our journey to the turtle sanctuary. We had a delicious breakfast of pancakes! Next we started our 5 hour bus excursion. We stopped at a souvenir shop and had lunch as well as shopping time. We all boarded the bus again and finished our excursion full from lunch wish some fun new souvenirs. We arrived at our nice hotel in the rain, and started packing for our next adventure with the sea turtles. We had a scrumptious meal with burgers, quesadillas, nachos, and many more delicious entrees. We then gathered around and finished off the night with information about our turtle adventure and a big game of mafia. It was one of the many fun but long bus days! We’re excited for another adventure tomorrow!

-Payton and Grace

July 3, 2023

Today the group woke up at around 7 and ate breakfast at the hotel. We ate waffles, eggs, beans and rice, juice and fruit. We then quickly grabbed our clean laundry. Then we got on the bus for 2 hours, taking us to our boat trip. We toured the river on the boat and learned about the wildlife and mangroves. The river spit us out on the ocean were we traveled another 30 minutes to the Life for Life sanctuary on the Oso Peninsula. After unloading the boat we took a 15 minute barefoot walk to where we are staying. Right after a lunch of fried rice, salad, fried cheese sticks and freshly cracked coconut water we got settled and took our 45 minute hike to see where we are working for the next few days. On our hike we saw a family of white faced monkeys, a tapir, and a coati. When we reached the turtle sanctuary we learned about the background of the program and the importance of this work. We got to swim in the saltwater river and spend time on the beach before heading back for dinner. We had fried fish, vegetables, fried plantain, zucchini soup, and a passion fruit dessert. After dinner we had a group meeting in hammock area where we played a game and talked about our service day tomorrow. We are all exited about our new hostel and ready to fall asleep to the sound of waves.

-Maggie D. and Annabelle S.

July 4, 2023
This morning the group woke up at 7:30 to eat breakfast and quickly started our 45 minute hike to the beach, where the turtle nursery is located. When we arrived we worked until 1:30, clearing out bamboo roots, filling sand bags, and putting up a tarp to protect the turtle eggs. Then we ate lunch and continued to work for an hour. Before hiking back, we jumped in Rio Claro, the river next to the nursery and the ocean. Once we got back to the hostel, where we are staying for the next 4 days, we showered and rested before our Spanish lesson with our leaders James and Nohelia. Soon after, we had dinner and an evening meeting to wrap up the day!

From your amazing leaders of the day, Gilly M. and Charlie H.

July 5, 2023

The day started with a lengthy and humid hike to the turtle sanctuary. During the hike, we found turtle tracks that lead to a nest of eggs just a few feet from the beach. Lucky, we where able to collect the eggs and hike with them back to the nursery. After completing the enclosure, we where each able to place two eggs safely into the ground. After the enclosure was finished and the eggs safe in the ground, we hopped on canoes and paddled down the river to a near by waterfall. We climbed through rocks and were eventually able to jump into the water below the waterfall. Surprisingly, the water was warm and floated down the rest of the river, back to turtles. Then, we hiked back in the rain and ate a late lunch. After some rest, we made bracelets for the conservation center to sell for more funding. We ate dinner and once again were put to sleep by the rain.

From,
Harper and Izzy

July 6, 2023

This morning our group woke up at 7:00 to then eat a yummy breakfast at 7:30. Our breakfast was eggs cooked in tomato sauce with toast and fruit. Then after breakfast we started our 20ish minute walk down the beach to where a small, one room school house is located. When we arrived, we got right to painting. Ricardo had us paint the school house, the bathroom walls, and a open aired classroom. Good thing we wore our painting clothes because we got really messy while painting. Once the paint dried, we started to add some fun details. We sketched then painted: tapirs, macaws, turtles, “Pura Vida”, monkeys, and a coati. We had a break from painting for lunch which was chicken stew, salad, rice, and mango juice. We had lunch on the beach in the shade of coconut trees.Then once lunch was finished we went right back to painting. I think i can speak for the group when I say we especially enjoyed our service work today. Then once our painting time was done, we started our walk back along the beach. Our walk was a bit of a race sgainst high tide. During one point we had to cross an area of sand that was flooded with water! During that crossing we had a few members of the group take a tumble. Thankfully no one was hurt and everyone had smiles on their faces. Once we got back to camp we had some free time to shower and/or practice for the talent show tomorrow night. During our free time you can buy virgin pina coladas, virgin mojitos, and ice cream from a little snack shop. We all love it beacuse it’s a nice refreshing cold treat. After that we came together for a dinner of squash soup, crutons, shrimp rice, and black beans. Mid way through dinner it started torentially raining, which is definitely not uncommon. After dinner, we had some time before our meeting so we got to hang out in these awesome hammocks. Then we all came together for our nightly meeting. We did our reflection, which tonight was a high and low from today. We ended our meeting with a fun and challenging hand clap game that Kat showed us. Then we ended the night with some group singing and guitar playing.

Looking forward to another fun filled day!
Pura vida,
Eliana A.

July 7, 2023

We woke up this morning and had a breakfast consisting of pancakes and fruit before heading out to rid the beach of trash. We walked towards the school that we painted the previous day until we got to the first river crossing where we turned around to begin searching for trash. At first there wasn’t much except the occasional tiny piece of plastic. After a while we got to an area of the beach that had more trash than all of what we had gathered so far. Here we found shoes, combs, toothbrushes and LOTS of plastic bottles. Once we worked our way through the heaps of trash, we emerged onto a beach where we stopped to take a break and swim before heading back to the Life for Life Hostel for lunch. We had a talent show with musical performances, magic, and comedy. We ended the day out by watching a video on why Life for Life was founded and the importance of the work we have been doing here, tomorrow we leave this beautiful place and move onto the last leg of our journey in Costa Rica.

Lake and Isaiah

July 8, 2023
Today we woke up bright and early at 6:30am, to eat breakfast and say goodbye to the folks at Life for Life and get on a boat and go back to the mainland. Then we went to a museum. This museum had spheres carved by ancient Costa Rican civilazations. Then we went to get lunch. After lunch we went to the hotel and got settled in. We had free time and some people went to the beech. We then had dinner. We played mafia at daily meeting then called it a night. We’re so excited to surf!

Jack and Jaxon

July 9, 2023

Today we woke up in hotel el Tecal. We had a good breakfast of rice and beans and fresh fruit. We then went on a short walk down the street to the beach. We got suited up and ready to surf. We surfed for about 45 minutes then took a refreshing water break and enjoyed some fresh fruit. Then we got back into the waves. After surfing we had lunch and then went to a small market to pick out some goodies. We had a chill afternoon and some of us headed back to the beach while other stayed back at the hotel to swim in the pool. We later had a fun and interactive Spanish lesson. After that we enjoyed some ribs and chicken for dinner. Our meeting tonight was a short one. We ended the day with a movie night. Toma esta,

Eliana and Grace

July 10, 2023

This morning, after a breakfast of beans and waffles and eggs, we left at 8:30 to go whale watching. After a while of sailing on the boat, we spotted two humpback whales, a mother and a baby. We got very lucky as they came pretty close to our boat. After watching the whales for around 30 minutes, we headed to the nearby whale island to swim. We then headed back to the beach where we left to the hotel to eat a healthy lunch of chicken or fish. Shortly there after, we went to the local beach to surf for about 3 hours where we learned to carve the waves. We chilled out at the hotel for a couple of restful hours before we had a Spanish lesson at 6:30 where we sung a popular song in Spanish. After we had dinner, we wrapped up our day with a meeting and a game all together.

Charlie and Brady